The initial encoding of item and location information is being investigated in conjunction with reading ability. A perceptual deficit hypothesis of reading disability based NOT on form perception, but rather on the time needed to encode location information has been advanced and is now being tested. Thresholds will be obtained for highly skilled and less skilled readers under four conditions: color centered; color varied in one of four quadrants; letter centered; and letter varied in four quadrants. A variety of masking studies are planned to determine the extent to which observed encoding deficits can be attributed to differential accrual rates for item and location information in tasks that require integration of these two types of information.